Empire of Rust

by Chambers, V. J.

  But the first shape she made out in the darkness caused her heart to drop into her stomach. She saw Nathaniel tied to a tree, surrounded by a barbed wire fence. There was another man tied to the other side. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Ezekiel.

  Nathaniel was a prisoner?

  But that didn’t make any sense at all. Why would they do that to him? They needed him. The group was nothing without Nathaniel and his magical sparks. How would they convince anyone to rise up against the empire without him?

  She also realized that it meant she wasn’t going to be accepted here after all. It had been a long shot to begin with, considering how Nathaniel had treated her, but now it was obvious that she had traveled all this way for nothing. She was not near a destination of safety. She had gambled and lost.

  She started to cry.

  She was far enough into the darkness that no one could see her, but she was afraid that her sobs would give her away, and she tried to suppress them.

  There was a man guarding Nathaniel and Ezekiel, but he wasn’t keeping an especially good eye on them. He mostly looked bored. Still, Leah didn’t want him to see her. Considering they’d tied up Nathaniel, they would be angry with her as well for her role in the disaster with Gabriel.

  But she couldn’t keep herself from crying, and sometimes, the sobs she made were audible.

  She clapped her hand over her mouth. She buried her face in her horse’s mane. She didn’t know what to do.

  Luckily, the guard didn’t seem to notice anything. After a while, he wandered away, back for the fire.

  Leah sniffled, watching him go.

  “That’s it.” Ezekiel’s voice carried through the darkness to her—faint, but understandable. “He’s gone, and now I’m going to get free. Then I’m going to strangle you.”

  What? No. She couldn’t allow anyone to hurt Nathaniel. She dismounted from the horse and hurried over to the barbed wire fence.

  Both of the men saw her approaching.

  She skidded to a stop next to the barbed wire, crouching down. “I won’t let you hurt Nathaniel.”

  “What are you doing here?” said Nathaniel.

  “Why aren’t you with Gabriel?”

  “Gabriel told me he didn’t want to look at me anymore. He was angry with me for working behind his back.”

  “Behind his back?” said Ezekiel.

  “Oh, be serious,” said Nathaniel. “What could you have possibly done? You didn’t even know what we were looking for. You weren’t officially working with us. Certainly he could see that.”

  Leah hiccuped.

  “Hey,” said Nathaniel. “You’re crying.”

  “No, I’m not.” She scrubbed at her eyes.

  “I knew there was something going on with you,” said Ezekiel. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted.”

  That made Leah want to cry again. She bit down on the inside of her cheek.

  “Listen, Leah,” said Nathaniel, “I’m sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am. I never should have made promises to you. I never should have been so irresponsible. I used you, and it was selfish and horrible of me.”

  Leah didn’t know how to respond to that. She shook her head. “You love me. And I love you.”

  “No,” said Nathaniel. “I don’t love you. That’s why I’m such an asshole.”

  She lifted her chin. “You’re just trying to scare me off. You want me away from you because you think it’s dangerous. You’re doing it to protect me. But I’m not going to leave you here with Ezekiel—not if he’s trying to kill you.”

  “Leah, I don’t love you.”

  “Stop saying that.”

  “Just go back to Gabriel. Beg him to forgive you. Promise him anything,” said Nathaniel. “That’s your only chance.”

  “No,” she said. And then she did start crying again.

  “Timothy’s on his way back from the fire, Leah,” said Nathaniel. “Get away from here. Get away from here before they see you.”

  She looked up. She didn’t know who Timothy was, but then she saw the guard, and he was on his way back, and she realized that Nathaniel would, of course, know his name. She looked back at Nathaniel. “Please… if you only tell me the truth. Tell me you love me—”

  “Go.”

  She took off back into the darkness. But this time, she felt too devastated to cry.

  * * *

  The receiving room was a strange and solemn place as Michal looked out over it from her place at Darius’s side. He was seated on the throne, and she stood beside him, holding his hand. Behind them, in a wide arc, stood all the revenants—cold and expressionless, their perfectly unmarred skin gleaming in the light of morning.

  It hadn’t been difficult to subdue the entire mansion. Not at all. No one had offered any resistance whatsoever. Anyone they confronted eventually decided to yield, even if at first they hesitated.

  Now, they were about to complete Darius’s coronation. He hadn’t been keen on it, saying he didn’t really see what the point of it was, but she’d insisted. It was tradition, and it would make it all seem more real and normal for the people in the mansion. Darius was the emperor now. He’d need to behave like one and adopt the customs of the emperor.

  So, they’d gathered everyone together here. The council and the members of their families who’d come to court. The other nobles who were visiting court. And the members of Michal’s own family. Her mother, her father’s other wives, and her uncle Matthew. Noticeably missing were Simon and Gabriel. Simon had been confined to a set of quarters in the mansion, but she and Darius had him moved to the dungeon. That was what he deserved after all.

  The coronation was already underway. There was only one thing left to do, and that was for Darius to be given his scepter and crown. These were symbolic objects that were only used ceremonially. Most recently, they’d been given to Gabriel.

  Michal nodded at the head of the council, who came forward with the crown and scepter. He was noticeably shaking the closer he got to the revenants. Michal wanted to roll her eyes at that. The revenants were completely harmless. She could sense that. They had gone completely dormant at this moment. They had no will of their own. They only served Darius’s will. But now was not the time to show contempt for the head’s fear. It could be misinterpreted as contempt for the man himself, and she was having Darius submit to this ritual as a sign of respect. He was taking the empire by force, yes, but he was also acknowledging the customs.

  The head of the council knelt down in front of Darius’s throne, holding up the crown and the scepter.

  Darius stood. He looked sidelong at Michal to confirm that he was doing this properly, and she nodded. Darius motioned for the head of the council to rise also.

  The head did so. He ascended the steps to stand next to Darius.

  Now, it was Darius’s turn to kneel, a show of deference to the empire and its citizens. Darius did.

  The head place the crown on Darius’s head and gave him the scepter.

  “Hold on a second,” said a loud, slurred voice from the back of the receiving room. The declaration was punctuated by a door slam.

  Everyone turned to look. They saw Michal’s uncle Matthew coming in to the back of the hall, staggering and obviously drunk.

  Oh dear. Michal had been sure he was already here. But now she realized that the man she’d taken for her uncle was actually her cousin James, his son. “Uncle,” she said, “you are interrupting—”

  “Oh I can see what’s going on,” said Matthew. “And it has to stop. I’m the one in charge, and this can’t go on.”

  Darius got to his feet.

  The head cast a glance at the revenants, still quaking. He didn’t seem to know what to do with himself.

  Matthew thrust himself through the crowd with exaggerated movements. Everyone got out of his way. (As long as they could manage it. His balance wasn’t great, and sometimes he stumbled against one person or the other, grabbing their shoulders to keep himself upright.) “What do
you think you’re doing there, Michal?”

  “Where have you been?” she said. “We’re crowning the new emperor.”

  “New? Where’s Gabriel?”

  “Doesn’t matter,” said Michal. “Darius has control now, and no one can challenge him.”

  “That’s treason!” exclaimed her uncle. “You have no right!”

  “Uncle, what’s done is done,” she said. “Now, kindly calm yourself and apologize to the new emperor.”

  “I’ll do no such thing,” said Matthew.

  There was a rumbling the crowd.

  “He’s no emperor of mine!”

  Murmurs of assent and agreement.

  Damn it. This was a disaster. She had to silence her uncle. “Uncle, if you don’t bend the knee to your ruler, you will be committing treason, and we will have to deal with you.”

  Matthew laughed. “Now, that’s ridiculous. I’m in charge. Gabriel left the empire to me. So, you can’t tell me what to do. Now get your dark monster off the throne.”

  “Or what?” said Michal tersely.

  “Or I’ll have you locked up.”

  Darius spoke up, his voice velvet and deep. “How will you do that?”

  “Well, I’m in charge, that’s how,” said Matthew. He turned in a shaky circle. “Guards!” he bellowed.

  “Please sit down, uncle,” said Michal.

  No guards came, but Matthew stayed standing. As best he could anyway. He stumbled twice as he tried to keep his balance. “I won’t. I’m in charge, and I have to protect the empire.” He hiccuped loudly.

  He was too damned drunk. He was being an idiot. They were going to have to frighten him. It would be the only way to get him to shut up. “Sit down,” she snapped, “or you’ll be torn to pieces by revenants.”

  Darius turned to her sharply.

  She nodded at him.

  Darius swallowed, but he nodded back.

  Three revenants broke ranks and began to move towards Matthew. They gazed at him with empty eyes, taking slow steps in his direction.

  Matthew stared at the revenants, blinking hard. It was as if he’d just noticed them. “Now, what’s this?”

  “Sit down,” said Michal, “and no harm will come to you.”

  “I won’t sit down,” said Matthew. “If you don’t want me to speak up for what’s right, then you’ll have to kill me. That monster is stealing the throne from the right-born emperor, you’re own brother. And you two are criminals.”

  Michal’s nostrils flared. She willed the revenants to move faster.

  And… it seemed they did, because they were on her uncle almost immediately.

  He screamed.

  “You have made your choice,” said Michal.

  The revenants surrounded him. One seized his arm and brought the flesh to its mouth. It bit down.

  Her uncle screeched.

  The crowd gasped, backing away.

  The other revenants sunk their teeth into the man—one on his shoulder, another on his neck.

  Her uncle’s screams grew louder and louder.

  But the revenants kept feeding, tearing off chunks of his skin and swallowing, never letting go of him.

  He struggled, but they held him fast. His movements did nothing but spray his blood all over the floor and the walls. The gathered crowd moved back even further, but they still all watched with a terrible fascination.

  The revenants wrestled Matthew to the ground. They tore open his stomach. They drew out the gory strands of his guts.

  Finally, he stopped screaming.

  There was no sound except the slurps and smacks of the revenants eating.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Gabriel had ditched his carriage miles ago in favor of heading north on horseback. He was following the tracks of the gypsies and of Leah—whose were easier to track, more obvious. He was going quickly—quick enough to keep the trail before it was destroyed—but not so quickly that he couldn’t be overtaken. He was expecting reinforcements from the capital soon enough. Then, together, they’d deal with these rebels. The empire would be safe, and he’d then be free to do what he’d always wanted to do. Use his position and influence to bring technology back to the land. This was only a temporary setback. That was what he kept telling himself.

  But he had to admit, he was frightened. What if this wasn’t temporary? What if things like this kept happening during his whole reign? What if he spent all his time putting out fires?

  He knew that he could effect lasting change in his lifetime, but not if he didn’t have the chance to try. If he was forced to do other mundane tasks like keeping the empire intact, he’d never have the time to do anything else. This wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t what he had dreamed.

  Still, he rode on and hoped that his fears were unfounded. He hoped that he would be able to return to making his dream a reality very soon.

  He was waiting for the sight and sound of hoof beats in the distance, for an army to crest over the hill—horses and flags and trumpets.

  But when he did hear hoof beats, it was only one horse.

  He squinted to see one man in the distance, riding hard and fast to catch up with him. As the man approached, Gabriel recognized him as the carriage driver. He halted and waited for the man to get closer.

  When he arrived, he pulled his horse to a stop and leaped down.

  Gabriel dismounted as well.

  The man’s face twisted. He shook his head. “Sir…”

  “Where are the reinforcements?” said Gabriel. “Are they on their way? Have they been delayed?”

  The man drew a hand over his face. “It’s… I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Reinforcements aren’t coming, sir. You don’t have any reinforcements. You don’t have anything.”

  “What? Has something happened in the capital?”

  “Yes, sir. The necromancer you spoke of? He and his wife, your sister Michal, they have taken over your throne.”

  Gabriel furrowed his brow. He was too confused. He couldn’t understand what the man had just said.

  “They had a mass of revenants following them around, and anyone who offered resistance was eaten up. They executed your uncle—the man you left in charge—in front of dozens of witnesses. They said he screamed for twenty minutes while the revenants bit him to death.”

  Gabriel shook his head. That didn’t make sense. Michal was his closest sibling. They’d grown up together. They were on each other’s side. She would never…

  But then he remembered their last conversation. She was disgusted by his sexual proclivities. She was fiercely protective of her new husband. She was… different. Maybe when that monster fucked her, he did something to her. Or maybe…

  Maybe the only person who’d ever been on his side had just turned against him.

  Gabriel grasped the reins of his horse to hold himself up.

  The horse neighed, shaking its head.

  Gabriel let go. He cleared his throat. “Your horse will need water,” he said to the carriage driver. That man’s horse looked exhausted from riding so hard and fast. “There’s a stream over there.” He pointed.

  “Sir, I’m sorry.”

  Gabriel nodded. “Yes.”

  The carriage driver led his horse towards the stream. Gabriel’s own horse turned its head toward him, as if asking permission. Gabriel patted it on the rump, and it loped off in the direction of water as well.

  Gabriel felt very, very cold. His fingers were numb. He took several stumbling steps in some direction—why, he didn’t know.

  And then his legs collapsed under him, and he fell to his knees.

  * * *

  Leah found her way back to her horse and found someplace to huddle up and spend the night in the cold. When the morning light came, she picked her way back the way she had come, heading back to the place where the tracks stopped. She didn’t know where she was going. She supposed that Nathaniel
was right. She needed to go back to Gabriel. He was the only person who’d really been kind to her, and if she could get him to forgive her, everything would be okay.

  She had a long journey ahead of her, and she knew she should get started right away.

  But when she made it back to the tracks, she found she didn’t have the spirit for it.

  She dismounted from the horse, let go of its reins and sat down on the ground. She didn’t have the energy to cry anymore. But she didn’t have the will to go on either.

  Maybe she’d brought this on herself. Her mother—before she died—had always told her that she must guard her virtue against men who would steal it from her and leave her with nothing. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been warned.

  But she had been so sure that Nathaniel was different. He’d seemed different than any other man she’d ever met. She remembered the first time she had seen his face, illuminated in the sparks of his magic trick. He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen.

  She remembered how awed she’d been, how astonished that someone like him would pick someone like her.

  Now she realized he hadn’t. Not really. He’d only wanted to use her. That was what he had said. It made more sense. A man like Nathaniel wouldn’t fall in love with a common girl like her. Not even if she was carrying his child.

  Her heart was broken. Everything that had driven her on and kept her going was gone. None of it was real. She didn’t have the will to go on.

  She lay back on the ground and stared up at the sky.

  Eventually, her eyes fluttered closed.

  She slept.

  She awoke to the distant sound of hoof beats. Sitting up, she squinted at the horizon. There was a rider approaching.

  Should she hide? Who knew what kind of men traveled this wilderness? He might hurt her.

  But she wasn’t sure that she cared. She stayed where she was.

  And as the rider grew closer, she recognized him. It was Gabriel.

  He was coming to her. Instead of her having to ride all the way back to him, he’d saved her the journey.

  She got to her feet and ran towards him.

  When he saw her, he stopped. “Leah?” he said. He slid down off his horse.